1.
Wexford GAA
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The county board is also responsible for the Wexford inter-county teams. Wexford is one of the few counties to have won the All-Ireland Senior Championship in both football and hurling, Wexford have won five Football Championships, with the most recent in 1918. Hurling has been played in Wexford from medieval times, evidence of this can be found in the hurling ballads of the 15th and 16th centuries. Others have said that King George III shouted come on the yellow bellies at a match near London. Wexford had one of the greatest football teams in the history of the GAA in the 1910s, winning six Leinster, the team was trained by 1900 star James the Bull Roche, who had fought for the World Heavyweight boxing Championship. Ned Wheeler, Aidan Doyle and the OKennedy brothers, Gus, the latter was the team captain. The feat of six Leinster titles in a row was only equalled in 1931 when Kildare won the sixth in a sequence began in 1926. Wexfords last major success was winning the Leinster title in 1945. From then on, hurling took precedence in Wexford and as a consequence the Wexford footballers suffered, more recently, Wexford have had a strong team. The team reached the Division 1 League final of 2005 under the management of Pat Roe but were beaten by a strong Armagh team that day. In April 2008, in Jason Ryans first year as manager of the team and this proved to be the first success of what would be a historic year for Wexford football, as they reached their first Leinster final in over 50 years. Along the way they stunned Meath by coming from ten points down to win their quarter-final in Carlow and this was Wexfords 5th consecutive appearance in the provincial semi-final, but their first victory. In the final they were beaten by a strong Dublin team. However, Wexford recovered from their humiliation and came through the door, beating Down by seven points in a shock result to reach the last eight. From here, they produced one of the shocks of the championship and they were beaten by 6 points by Tyrone, having been within two points of the eventual champions in the closing stages. Wexford again reached the Leinster final in the 2011 Leinster Championship, Wexford had an easier run to the final than in 2008, facing Offaly, Westmeath and Carlow. In the final they faced Dublin again, but ran them much closer, Wexford entered Round 4 of the qualifiers where they faced Limerick, but they were beaten by a single point, on a score of 1–18 to 1–17. This is in evidence in several one-sided results over the years, the Antrim team were beaten by 12–17 to 2–3 in a 1954 All-Ireland semi-final

2.
Munster Senior Football Championship
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The Munster Senior Football Championship is the premier inter-county knockout competition in Gaelic football in the province of Munster in Ireland. The games are organised by the Munster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months, the Munster final is normally played in July. Kerry are the most successful, having won the Munster championship 78 times and they have also won the championship eight times in a row on two occasions, the most consecutive wins in any of the Provincial Football Championships. The championship has been won by Kerry or Cork every year since 1923 with the exception of victories by Tipperary in 1935, the Munster Football Championship is run on a knock-out basis in which once a team loses they are eliminated from the competition. All six counties of Munster compete, the winners of the Munster championship advance to the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship quarter-finals. The Munster championship is contested by all six counties in the Irish province of Munster, currently, all championship matches are played on a rolling home and away basis. While the six county grounds are used for championship matches in recent times. The combined total capacity of the Munster Championship in the 2016 championship was 208,960, stadium attendances are a significant source of regular income for the Munster Council and the individual county boards. For the 2016 championship, the total attendance at the five games was 40,700. Managers in the Munster Championship are involved in the running of the team, including the training. They are assisted in the selection by a team of selectors. Their influence varies from county-to-county and is related to the relationship of the manager with the county board, as of 2016 all inter-county management teams are required to have some coaching qualifications. The championships longest-serving manager in the era was Mick ODwyer. He is also the most successful manager in the history of the championship, during that time he won eleven Munster titles. Éamonn Fitzmaurice is now the championships longest-serving current manager, having been in charge of Kerry since 2012 and they achieved this feat on three separate occasions, 1936-1943, 1958-1966 and 1975-1983

3.
Clare GAA
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The Clare County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Clare GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Clare. Clare plays its games at Cusack Park in Ennis. The Clare Hurling team compete in the Munster championship which it has won six times, Clare has won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship four times in its history. They won their first title in 1914 and it took another 81 years for them to win their title in 1995. Clare won their most recent two titles in 1997 and 2013, Clare compete in Division 1 of the National Hurling League, and are currently the defending champions. Cusack Park is a GAA stadium located in the town of Ennis, County Clare and it is the home of the Clare Gaelic football and hurling teams. Three sides of the ground are terraced, the two areas behind the goals and one terraced length of the pitch which is also covered, the finals of the Clare Senior Hurling Championship and the Clare Senior Football Championship are held each year in the stadium. Hurling has been played in Clare for centuries and Michael Cusack, at senior level, Clare have won 6 Munster titles and 4 All-Ireland championships. Early Successes In 1899, Clare won their first provincial title after receiving a walkover from Kerry in the final, Clare contested the All-Ireland final, but lost to Dublin 5-1 to 1-6. 1914 saw Clare claim another Munster title when they beat Cork by 3-02 to 3-01, Clare then defeated Galway in the All-Ireland semi-final by 6-06 to 0-00 to reach the All-Ireland final for the first time their history. In the final Clare beat Laois by 2-04 to 1-02 and Amby Power became the first man to captain Clare to an All-Ireland hurling title, in 1932, Clare captured another provincial title, defeating Cork on a scoreline of 5-02 to 4-01. They went on to contest the All-Ireland final, but lost to Kilkenny by 3-03 to 2-03, the Revolutionary Years Under Ger Loughnane After losing Munster finals in 1993 and 1994, Len Gaynor was replaced as manager by Ger Loughnane. Clare made a return to the decider in 1995 after a 2-13 to 3-09 victory over Cork in the semi-final. In the final minutes of the game, Cork were leading by two points when Clare earned a sideline which was taken by Fergie Tuohy and it travelled to the edge of the square, where Ollie Baker doubled on the sliotar, scoring a goal, to put Clare through. In the final, Clare faced Limerick, Clare dominated the game and ran out easy victors by 1-17 to 0-11. This was Clares first Munster title in 63 years, in the All-Ireland semi-final, Clare played Galway. 2-01 from Ger OLoughlin and 0-07 from Jamesie OConnor saw Clare account for the tribesmen by 3-12 to 1-13, Offaly, reigning All-Ireland champions, awaited Clare in the final. In the second half, an Anthony Daly free rebounded off the post and fell to Eamonn Taaffe at the edge of the square, Clare ran out 1-13 to 2-08 victors

4.
Leinster Senior Football Championship
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The Leinster Senior Football Championship is the premier knockout competition in the game of Gaelic football played in the province of Leinster in Ireland. The series of games are organised by the Leinster Council of the Gaelic Athletic Association and are played during the summer months, the competition involves the counties of Leinster playing against each other. The Leinster Football Final is played in July in Croke Park, the winning county is presented with the Delaney Cup, named after a famous Laois GAA family, and advance to the quarter finals of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. It was unequalled by any team, until Dublin won their own 6-in-a-row between 1974 and 1979. The Leinster Football Championship is run on a basis, whereby a team is eliminated from the competition once they lose. All of the counties of Leinster except Kilkenny participate in the championship, the draw is seeded, with the previous years semi-finalists getting byes to the quarter-finals. Six of the seven teams are drawn for three preliminary round matches, while the seventh team also gets a bye to the quarter-finals. The Leinster championship is contested by 11 of the 12 counties in Leinster, Kilkenny is currently the only county not to compete. Meath won the 2010 Leinster Final against neighbours Louth in controversial circumstances, during the Leinster Final on 11 July 2010, in the 74th minute of the match against Louth, a goal was awarded by the referee after brief consultation with only one of the match umpires. Crowd violence, controversy and recriminations ensued, however, Meath received the Leinster title and the cup

5.
Ulster Senior Football Championship
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The Ulster Senior Football Championship is a GAA inter-county competition for gaelic football teams within the Irish province of Ulster. It is organised by the Ulster Council and begins in early May, the final is usually played on the third Sunday in July. It is regarded as hardest to win of the four football championships. Cavan are the most successful team in Ulster Championship history, having won the competition on 37 occasions, fermanagh remain the only team not to have won an Ulster title. The Ulster Senior Football Championship celebrated its 125th year in 2013, for many decades, winning the Ulster Senior Football Championship was considered as much as a team from Ulster could hope for, as the other provinces were usually much stronger and more competitive. Before 1990, only Cavan in 1933,1935,1947,1948 and 1952, in the 1990s however, a significant sea change took place, as the Ulster Champions won the All-Ireland in four consecutive years from 1991–1994. Since then Ulster has produced more All-Ireland winning teams than any other province, currently the Ulster Senior Football Championship is considered one of the toughest provinces to compete in. The Ulster football final is played on the third Sunday in July, usually at St. Tiernachs Park in Clones. From 2004 until 2006, it was staged at Croke Park in Dublin, the 2007 final—contested by Monaghan and Tyrone—marked a return to Clones, with Tyrone emerging victorious. In the 2000s, Armagh were a dominant force in Ulster, Donegal won consecutive Ulster titles from the preliminary round in 2011 and 2012 and added the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 2012. The Ulster championship is contested by the nine counties in the Irish province of Ulster. Ulster comprises the six counties of Northern Ireland as well as Cavan, Donegal, the Ulster Senior Football Championship is a straight knock-out competition. All beaten teams compete in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship qualifiers, the Ulster Senior Football Championship winner enters the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship at the quarter-final stage. The two semi-final winners competed in the All-Ireland Senior Football Final, below is a record of each countys performance since the introduction of the qualifier system to the All-Ireland Series in 2001. Key A golden background denotes years the Ulster Champions won the All-Ireland as well, Cavan played in Leinster Senior Football Championship in 1895. As of 3 June 2008 according to the BBC, updated list Notes, Includes Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers. As of 15 June 2008, according to the Sunday Tribune, Notes, Includes Ulster Championship, All-Ireland Championship and Qualifiers. Since the records have been done Brendan Coulter has become the top scorer with 18

6.
Monaghan GAA
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Separate county boards are responsible for the camogie and ladies Gaelic football teams. Their current team sponsor is Investec, Gaelic football was recorded in Inniskeen in 1706 in a poem. Monaghan were prominent in Ulster championship competitions during the period 1914-30, Monaghan beat Kildare in a semi-final to reach the 1930 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, where Kerry beat them by 3-11 to 0-2 without their goalkeeper touching the ball. In 1979 the Monaghan team won the Ulster Senior Football Championship for the first time in 41 years with a defeat of Donegal. In the final Monaghan Kieran Finlay scored 1-09, which was a record in an Ulster final for 20 years and they also won the Dr McKenna Cup in 1979. Victories in the Ceannarus Tournament against Roscommon and Dublin in 1979 brought gloss to the countys finest year on the field in almost half a century. In the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship 1979 semi-final at Croke Park, Monaghan were again beaten by Kerry, Monaghan also won Division 3 of the National Football League that year and lost to Meath in the quarterfinal. Kerry won the replay on a 2-09 to 0-10 score and that National football league title of 1985 was won by Monaghan on a 1-11 to 0-09 score against pre-match favourites Armagh. The game was settled by an Eamon McEneaney penalty in the first half when referee John Gough from Antrim decided that an Armagh defender had taken too many steps in his own penalty area. That years Ulster Senior Football Championship was also a stirring success, the first day against Armagh, Monaghan relied on pure luck to survive for a draw, as Armagh dominated the game from start to finish, doing everything but score. Paddy Linden saved a penalty, while and Armagh player saw the line barely 30 seconds after coming onto the field as a substitute, the replay was a better match but a late Armagh goal had Monaghan concerned. However they won by 1-11 to 2-07, in the Ulster final against Derry Eamon McEneaney helped himself to 2-04 as Monaghan recorded and easy 2-09 to 0-08 win. As stated the drawn All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry was a thriller, Eamon McEneaneys last gasp equaliser was something special but in the replay Kerry were ruthless and despite serious Monaghan pressure the Kingdom won by 5 points. Monaghans run that year was something special considering the fact that they were missing Declan Loughman, Gerry Hoey, All three were prominent in the National Football League win over Armagh while they would form the spine of the Ulster Senior Football Championship winning side of 1988. It could be argued that with three players on board, Monaghan could have won the All-Ireland in 1985. Certainly their absence robbed the team of vital strength in depth and they reached the 1986 National Football League final but this time the opposition was Laois. Played in front of over 30,000 supporters the Laoismen edged out Monaghan by 2-06 to 2-05, a promising season was over before it had begun. In 1987, Monaghan reached the National Football League semi-final again where they played out a game against Kerry at Croke Park

7.
Connacht Senior Football Championship
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The Bank of Ireland Connacht Senior Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football competition for the senior county teams of Connacht GAA. All of the counties of Connacht participate in the championship, as well as counties London, the Connacht Senior Football Championship is run on a knock-out basis in which once a team loses they are eliminated from the competition. A series of games are played during the months and the final is played in July. The winner progresses directly to the All-Ireland Series, while losing teams - since 2001 - progress to the All-Ireland Qualifiers, mayo are the Connacht Championships record holders, having won the competition on 46 occasions. Galway are Connachts most successful side with 9 All Ireland titles, London have competed in the Connacht Senior Football Championship since 1975. In this time they have managed three victories, one in 1977 and two in 2013, against Sligo and Leitrim, the Connacht championship is contested by the five counties in the Irish province of Connacht and the two foreign based teams of London and New York

8.
Galway GAA
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Galway is one of the few dual counties in Ireland, competing in a similar level in both hurling and gaelic football. The two sports are run by county boards in Galway, which is unusual, even for a dual county. Geographically the two games are quite separate in the county. Generally, football is the dominant game in Connemara, the Aran Islands, Inishbofin, North Galway, Hurling, meanwhile, is traditionally stronger in the South and East parts of Galway, with clubs such as Portumna, Ardrahan, and Gort each having multiple county titles. Galway city has teams in both codes, such as Castlegar in hurling and Salthill-Knocknacarra in football. There are exceptions to this rule of thumb, with hurling pockets in football areas, also, some parish clubs have fielded senior teams in hurling and football in the same season, such as Ballinasloe, Monivea Abbeyknockmoy and Moycullen. Galway GAA has jurisdiction over the area of the county of Galway. Galway GAA forms a part of the branch, Connacht GAA. Unlike other counties in Ireland, Gaelic games in Galway are run by two separate county boards, Gaelic football is organised by the Galway football board and hurling is organised by the Galway hurling board. The boards in Galway also organise the county championships in football and hurling for the clubs of Galway Galways traditional colours are maroon. In the early years of GAA competition, Galway teams wore the colours of the county champions in each sport, in 1936, however, the county adopted maroon as its primary colour. A crest was added to the jersey in the 1950s, with different crests coming into use for each sport, although the teams most often wear white shorts and maroon socks, the teams have also worn all maroon kits in the past. Until 2013, the football and hurling boards of Galway both used their own separate county crests for their teams, the teams began using the same jerseys and crest in 2013, ahead of that years Football and Hurling National Leagues. This new crest was, for the most part, the same as the hurling crest with the most notable differences being the angle of the boat, the first sponsor of any Galway team was Tommy Vardens Catering service, in the mid to late 1980s. Sponsorship wasnt as open in the GAA at the time, Tommy Varden sponsorship of the footballers was followed by the Supermacs fast food chain sponsoring the hurlers. In 2008, Tommy Varden ended the 25-year association with Galway football, after entering receivership, however, Aer Arann were forced to pull out of the sponsorship two years early, having sponsored the team in the 2008,2009 and 2010 seasons. In 2011, it was announced that the jersey would carry the logo of Cancer Care West. This made Galway the first GAA team to display the name of a charity on their county jersey rather than a corporate sponsor

9.
All-Ireland Senior Football Championship
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The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, the premier competition in Gaelic football, is an annual series of games played in Ireland and organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association. The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final is played on the third or fourth Sunday in September at Croke Park in Dublin, the first Championship to be held featured club teams who represented their respective counties after their county championship. The 21 a-side final was between Commercials of Limerick and Young Irelands of Louth, the final was played in Beech Hill, Clonskeagh on 29 April 1888 with Commercials winning by 1–4 to 0–3. Unlike later All-Ireland competitions, there were no championships. The second Championship was unfinished owing to the American Invasion Tour, the 1888 provincial championships had been completed but after the Invasion tour returned, the All-Ireland semi-final and final were not played. English team London reached the four times in the early years of the competition. In 1892, inter-county teams were introduced to the All-Ireland Championship, Congress granted permission for the winning club to use players from other clubs in the county, thus the inter-county teams came into being. The rules of hurling and football were also altered, goals were made equal to five points, the 1903 Championship brought Kerrys first All-Ireland title. They went on to become the most successful team in the history of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The first half of the century brought the rise of several teams who won two or more All-Ireland titles in that period, such as Kildare, Mayo, Cavan, Wexford. In the 1990s, a significant sea change took place, as the All-Ireland was claimed by an Ulster team in four consecutive years, since then Ulster has produced more All-Ireland winning teams than any other province. The All-Ireland Qualifiers were introduced in 2001, later that year, the 2001 final brought victory for Galway who became the first football team to win an All-Ireland by springing through the back door. In 2013, Hawk-Eye was introduced for Championship matches at Croke Park and it was first used to confirm that Offaly substitute Peter Cunninghams attempted point had gone wide 10 minutes into the second half of a game against Kildare. 2013 also brought the first Friday night game in the history of the Championship - a first round qualifier between Carlow and Laois, the county is a geographical region in Ireland, and each of the thirty-two counties in Ireland organises its own GAA affairs through a County Board. The county teams play in their respective Provincial Championships in Connacht, Leinster, Munster, kilkenny is currently unique among the 32 Irish county associations in not participating in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. The Provincial Championships operate through a cup competition format. They take place during the months of May, June and July, the winners of each of the four Provincial Championships earn a place in the All-Ireland Quarter-Finals, which take place in the month of August. Each match is played as a single leg, if a match is drawn there is a replay

10.
Gaelic football
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Gaelic football, commonly referred to as football or Gaelic, is an Irish team sport. It is played two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kicking or punching the ball into the teams goals or between two upright posts above the goals and over a crossbar 2.5 metres above the ground. Players advance the football, a leather ball, up the field with a combination of carrying, bouncing, kicking, hand-passing. In the game, two types of scores are possible, points and goals, a point is awarded for kicking or hand-passing the ball over the crossbar, signalled by the umpire raising a white flag. A goal is awarded for kicking the ball under the crossbar into the net, positions in Gaelic football are similar to that in other football codes, and comprise one goalkeeper, six backs, two midfielders, and six forwards, with a variable number of substitutes. Gaelic football is one of four sports controlled by the Gaelic Athletic Association, along with hurling and camogie, Gaelic football is one of the few remaining strictly amateur sports in the world, with players, coaches, and managers prohibited from receiving any form of payment. Gaelic football is played on the island of Ireland, although units of the Association exist in other areas such as Great Britain, North America. Outside Ireland, football is played among members of the Irish diaspora. Gaelic Park in New York City is the largest purpose-built Gaelic sports venue outside Ireland, the All-Ireland Senior Championship is considered the most prestigious event in Gaelic football. Under the auspices of the GAA, Gaelic football is a sport, however. Gaelic football was first codified in 1887, although it has purported links to varieties of football played in Ireland. Consequently, the name caid is used by people to refer to present day Gaelic football. Dublin is still known as the football field, the Statute of Galway of 1527 allowed the playing of foot balle and archery but banned hokie—the hurling of a little ball with sticks or staves as well as other sports. By the 17th century, the situation had changed considerably, the games had grown in popularity and were widely played. This was due to the patronage of the gentry, now instead of opposing the games it was the gentry and the ruling class who were serving as patrons of the games. Games were organised between landlords with each team comprising 20 or more tenants, wagers were commonplace with purses of up to 100 guineas. The earliest record of a precursor to the modern game date from a match in County Meath in 1670

11.
Roscommon GAA
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The Roscommon County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Roscommon GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Roscommon. The county board is responsible for the Roscommon inter-county teams. In 2014 with help of sponsors and the Club Rossie initiative a Roscommon GAA bus was bought to provide transport for all county teams to use, Roscommon have won back-to-back All-Ireland Senior Football Championship titles in 1943 and 1944. Roscommons rise from Junior status to Senior All-Ireland champions in the four leading up to 1943 was one of the great romances of its time. In the All Ireland final they drew with Cavan before winning the replay with two goals from Frankie Kinlough and Jack McQuillan. Kinlough scored the goal and Donal Keenan the points the following year when Roscommon beat Kerry, Roscommon were captained by Jamesie Murray from Knockcroghery. Roscommon were beaten in the replay, the injured team-captain, Jimmy Murray, was having blood wiped from his face to look right for the presentation when Kerry struck for two late equalising goals. Defeats in 1947,1952 and 1953 semi-finals ended the party, the 1940s successes were the pinnacle of Roscommons achievements. They also reached the final in 1962 and that year was memorable for they were losing the Connacht final to Galway by 5 points when Roscommon keeper Aidan Brady swung on the crossbar, breaking it in two. During the 15-minute wait to get it replaced, Roscommon moved the great Gerry OMalley to midfield in a re-organisation, Roscommons next period of success came in the late 1970s when they won 4 Connacht titles on the trot from 77-80. They reached the final in 1980 against Kerry, however, they failed to make any further progress in the 2001 All Ireland Championship and the decade that followed has been amongst the least successful in the teams history. On the field, outside of an exciting run in 2003. The success of the countys Minor team in winning the All-Ireland title in 2006 offered hope, Roscommon suffered a heavy defeat to local rivals Mayo in 2009. However, they followed this result with a draw against Wexford in the All Ireland Qualifiers at Wexford Park before beating the same opposition in a replay at Dr Hyde Park. Unfortunately, the followed up this victory with another sizeable defeat against Meath in the following game. The 7 point defeat brought the curtain down on another disappointing season, Supporters club was re-launched in March 2009. The new supporters club is proving a success within and outside the county. The current chairman is Kilmore man Brian Carroll, seamus Donoghue from the Tulsk club is the current secretary and Joe Gilligan is the treasurer

12.
Leitrim senior football team
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The Leitrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Leitrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Leitrim. The county board is responsible for the Leitrim inter-county teams. The countys senior Gaelic football team play in the Connacht Senior Football Championship, never having appeared in an All-Ireland final, they have won the Connacht Senior Football Championship on two occasions, most recently in 1994. Leitrim have also been champions of the FBD Insurance League twice and they won the competition for the first time in 2013, and managed to retain the title in 2014. Leitrims football history has brought sparse reward and they first competed in the All-Ireland in the 1907 championship. They were beaten by Roscommon on a score of 0-03 to 0-01 in the Connacht semi-final in their first ever match, the county won its first ever match in the 1910 championship, beating Sligo in the Connacht quarter-final by 0-03 to 0-00. They were then beaten by Galway in the semi-final, Leitrim did not record another win until the 1914 championship. They beat Sligo by 5-07 0-02 to qualify for their first ever Connacht final but were beaten by Roscommon in the decider, in the semi-final of the 1924 Connacht Championship, Leitrim forced Mayo to a draw, then refused to play extra-time. Galway went on to be beaten in the final by Mayo following a replay, Leitrim won the Connacht title and held Kerry to two points in the semi-final of the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship. Leitrim won the National Football League Division 2 title and contested the 1959 NFL semi-final with a changed fullback line but were beaten by Derry by seven points. A new generation of Leitrim under-21 players hosted and nearly beat the great Kerry team at Carrick-on-Shannon in 1977 before losing by five points, the expected breakthrough from Michael Martin and his men never happened. John OMahony was appointed Leitrim manager to build on the success of the Under-21 team that won the 1991 Connacht Championship and he managed to take Leitrim to the final of the 1994 Connacht Championship. Leitrim did not have a route to the final, beating Roscommon by a point. They took on Mayo in the final, overcoming OMahonys native county by two points in Hyde Park, OMahonys feat in leading the team that is traditionally the weakest in the province to that title is still heralded nationally to this day. Leitrim were ultimately beaten in the All-Ireland semi-final by Dublin at Croke Park, since losing to Sligo in 1989, Leitrim had suffered a series of near-misses, and might have followed up 1994 against Galway, losing by a single point in 1995 and two points in 1996. Leitrim sprung a massive shock when they managed to win the FBD Insurance League in 2013 and this was the countys fourth ever trophy and their first since 1994. They managed to retain the title in 2014, defeating Roscommon in the final, the countys Vocational Schools team have made it to two All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship Finals losing to Carlow in 1972 and Donegal in 1995

13.
Elphin, County Roscommon
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Elphin, is a small town innorth County Roscommon, Ireland. It forms the tip of a triangle with Boyle 18 km and Carrick-on-Shannon 14 km to the north west. It is at the junction of the R368 and R369 regional roads, Ireland West Airport Knock is 50 km west of Elphin - approximately 40 minutes by road. Elphin has historically been an important market town and the centre for the Diocese of Elphin. St Patrick is believed to have visited Elphin, consecrated its first church and ordained its first bishop, on his missionary tour through Connacht in 434 or 435, St Patrick came to the territory of Corcoghlan, present day Elphin. The chief of that territory, a noble Druid named Ono, gave land and afterwards his castle or fort to St Patrick to found a church, the place, which had hitherto been called Emlagh-Ono received the designation of Ail Finn, which means rock of the clear spring. It derives from a story of St Patrick raising a large stone from a well opened by him in the land of Ono, a copious stream of crystal water flowed from the well and continues to flow through Elphin to this day. St Patrick built a church called Tempull Phadruig and established an Episcopal See in Elphin, St Asicus remained as bishop of Elphin. St Patrick also founded a monastery or college at Elphin. In pre-Reformation times, Elphin was host to a number of religious orders and was a religious centre of international significance. This is supported by the appearance of Elphin in a number of maps in the Middle Ages. After the Reformation Elphin continued as the centre of a bishopric, a new bishops residence was built in the 1720s to the central block and flanking pavilions plan that is very common in Irish country houses of this period. The Church of Ireland cathedral was rebuilt in the eighteenth century. It was a modest building, no bigger than a parish church. An apse was added in the 19th century, the cathedral was used for worship up to 1961. It was badly damaged in a storm on 4 February 1957 and was demolished a few years later, associated with the cathedral was Elphin Diocesan School, popularly known as The Latin School. Its most famous students were Oliver Goldsmith and the eye surgeon Sir William Wilde, the school was closed in the 1860s when the seat of the bishopric was moved to Kilmore, County Cavan. According to legend, it was close to Elphin that the figure of Oisin fell from his horse upon his return from Tir na nOg

14.
Mayo GAA
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Mayos senior Gaelic football team play in the Connacht Senior Football Championship. Despite having three All-Ireland Senior Football Championship wins—1936,1950 and 1951— and also holding having a number of consecutive National Football League titles. Mayo also hold the record of staying the longest time in the top flight of the National Football League, Mayo have in recent times become known for their propensity to reach All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Finals only to fall at the ultimate hurdle. Mayo hold the Championship record for consecutive losing All-Ireland Senior Football Final appearances—this currently stands at eight, in 1989, they reached their first All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final since their last victory in 1951 only to lose to Cork. In 1996, a point by Meath at the end of the final forced a replay. Kerry bridged an 11-year title gap against them in 1997 with a three-point win, before torturing them by eight points in 2004 and thirteen points in 2006. Then, in the minute, Colm McFadden seized the ball from the grasp of Kevin Keane. Mayo managed thirteen points to Donegals two goals and eleven, only got on the scoresheet after sixteen minutes when already two goals behind and never led during the match. 2013 saw Mayo in the again, and once more coming up short, this time being seen off by Dublin. The teams traditional colours are green and red, the Mayo jersey will commonly be mostly green, with a thick horizontal red stripe just below chest level. These colours are inspired by The Green Above The Red, a rebel song, Mayos current crest is based on the countys coat of arms, which is shown on the left. It features four crosses, each representing a diocese of the Catholic Church in Mayo, the Patriarchal or double cross represents the Archdiocese of Tuam, while the three smaller Passion crosses represent Achonry, Killala and Galway/Kilmacduagh/Kilfenora. The Irish root word of the county, Maigh Eo, means plain of the yew trees, as well as this, the number of trees is significant, with the nine trees representing the number of baronies in the county. The sailing ship represents the maritime history, while the red sea below the green hills represents the traditional green above the red motif of the county. The Mayo GAA crest also features the Irish words Críost Linn, Mayos current sponsors are Irish sports store chain Elverys Sports. Their jerseys are provided by Irish manufacturers ONeills sportswear, Mayos unofficial supporters club is Mayo Club 51. Their crest is based on the current GAA crest, with the famous mountain Croagh Patrick in green, the name of the club commemorates the year that the Mayo senior footballers last won the Sam Maguire Cup, a year which is synonymous with Mayo football. Traditionally a football county, Mayo have always had a support at minor, U21

15.
Sligo GAA
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The Sligo County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Sligo GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Sligo. The county board is responsible for the Sligo inter-county teams. Sligo play in the Connacht Senior Football Championship but have managed to ever win three senior provincial titles, winning in 1928,1975 and 2007. Sligo have never appeared in an All-Ireland final, the 1922 Championship is the closest they have come, defeating Roscommon, Mayo and Galway to win the Connacht title, and beating Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final that followed. However, a flimsy technicality led to a replay of the Connacht final against Galway, in club football, no Sligo team has ever appeared in an All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship final. St. Marys is the only Sligo team to have won the Connacht Senior Club Football Championship. Eastern Harps, Curry and Tourlestrane have all appeared in Connacht finals and they have won only three Connacht championships, with an approximate gap of fifty years between each win. These championships came in 1928,1975 and 2007, the continuation of such a run would not see the Connacht title return to Sligo until some point in the middle of the 21st century. Sligo have never appeared in an All-Ireland final, the 1922 Championship is the closest they have come, defeating Roscommon, Mayo and Galway to win the Connacht title, and beating Tipperary in the subsequent All-Ireland semi-final that followed. However an objection from Galway on what is described as a flimsy technicality led to the Connacht decider being brought to a replay, which Sligo went on to lose. This gives Sligo the unique statistic of having qualified for an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, in 1954, Sligo reached the Connacht final against Galway, only for an equalising goal in the final minute to be disallowed. The new format together with a period of competing in Division 1 of the National Football League helped bring about an upward turn in the countys fortunes. On 8 July 2007, Sligo claimed their first Connacht title since 1975 with a one-point victory over Galway, the following year they were trashed by Mayo and ended up in the Tommy Murphy Cup following on from a league campaign that had seen them relegated to Division 4. Star player Eamonn OHara said he was embarrassed by the rapid decline back into mediocrity. On 27 June 2010, Sligo hosted Galway in a game which Sligo led 1–8 to 0–2 at halftime but were shocked by an undeserved draw ending 1–10 each, the replay saw Sligo defeat the Tribesmen on the scoreline 1–14 to 0–16 to advance to the Connacht Senior Football Final. Once there, after all their work and continued misfortune. Sligo football descended to a new depth on 26 May 2013 when they were dumped out of the Connacht Championship by London in their first game, the scoreline was 1-12 to 0-14. This was Londons first victory in the Connacht Championship since 1977, lorcan Mulvey scored the vital London goal

16.
Tubbercurry
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Tubbercurry or Tobercurry is the second-largest town in terms of both population and land area in County Sligo, Ireland. It lies at the foot of the Ox Mountains, on the N17 national primary road, Tubbercurry has a very active Tidy Towns Project which is setting out to transform the towns visual appearance. It was one of the first towns in Ireland to be awarded Fair Trade status and is now home to a large Polish community who work in many of the local industries, the village is currently twinned with Viarmes in France. The earliest mention of Tubbercurry is from 1397 when a battle took place in the town between two O’Connor families, the O’Connor Don from Roscommon and the O’Connors from Sligo town, St. Naithí and St Attracta are the patron saints of the area. These events attract large numbers of performing artists and cultural tourists from all over the world, the local sports scene comprises Gaelic football and Hurling teams, Real Tubber F. C. an association football club, and South Sligo A. C. in athletics. There is a course on the towns edge - Tubbercurry Golf Club. Other sports are catered for including Badmintion, Handball and Karate, Tubbercurry is home to Saint Attractas Community School, which was opened after the merger of Banada Abbey Secondary School and the Marist Convent. St. Attractas C. S. was opened in November 2002, the town also has a number of private bus and hackney hire companies. Tubbercurry railway station opened on 1 October 1895, closed for traffic on 17 June 1963. List of towns and villages in Ireland Towns Official Website EdenVilla Bed and Breakfast

17.
Castlerea
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Castlerea is the second largest town in County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland. It is located in the west of the county and, as of 2011, has a population of 3,055, roughly translated from Irish, Castlerea can mean Brindled Castle or Kings Castle. The town is built on the banks of the River Suck, clonalis House, located in the west of Castlerea, is the ancestral home of the Clan OConor, the last of the High Kings of Ireland. The OConor dynasty produced eleven high kings of Ireland and twenty-four kings of Connacht, theophilus Sandford, a member of Oliver Cromwells army in Ireland, received a large allocation of lands confiscated from the OConnor family as part of the Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652. Castlerea developed under the Sandfords, who established a distillery, a brewery, Sandfords descendants continued in power through the 19th century. The estate was acquired by the Land Commission and the Congested Districts Board. The demesne in which it was set survives and is now enjoyed as a public park, on 11 July 1921, Sergeant James King of the Royal Irish Constabulary was shot in Castlerea on St. Patrick Street and died of his wounds shortly afterward. The Truce of July 1921 was declared later that day, making Sergeant King the last casualty of the Irish War of Independence, at some point in the early 1960s, an elephant which was part of Fossetts circus died while the circus was performing in Castlerea. According to the local authority engineer at the time, it was buried under the Fair Green, dr. Douglas Hyde, the first President of Ireland and founder of the Gaelic League, was born in Castlerea on 17 January 1860. Sir William Wilde, a surgeon and historian and father of Oscar Wilde, was born in Castlerea in 1815. Dr. Matthew Young, a Bishop of Clonfert ca,1798, a natural philosopher, and a mathematician, was a native of Castlerea. Thomas Finnegan, the retired Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Killala, was born in the village of Cloonfellive near Castlerea, luke Ming Flanagan, former TD, and now an MEP, comes from Castlerea. Aidan Heavey arrived in England from Castlerea in 1993 and became chief executive of Tullow Oil, john Grenham, author of Tracing Your Irish Ancestors and other Irish heritage publications, grew up in Castlerea. He is a columnist and blogger with The Irish Times, john Waters, columnist for the The Irish Independent and author of Jiving at the Crossroads, was born and raised on Main Street in Castlerea. John F. Cryan, U. S. politician, was born in Castlerea, other notable people from the town include the poet Michael McGovern and the fur trader Andrew McDermot. Castlerea hosts the Castlerea Celtic, a football team, and St. Kevins. Castlereas major employers include Supervalu, Harmac Medical Products, Colour Communications Europe, Finola Foods, film production house Round Edge Films is based in Ballingare within Castlerea. The schools in the town are all located in the same area, Castlerea Community School instructs approximately 500 students, It provides Leaving Certificate Applied classes as well as the Junior Certificate and Leaving Certificate state examinations

18.
Louth GAA
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The Louth County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Louth GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Louth. The county board is responsible for the Louth inter-county championship. The earliest recorded inter-county football match took place in 1712 when Louth faced Meath at Slane, a fragment of a poem from 1806 records a football match between Louth and Fermanagh at Inniskeen, Co Monaghan. When Louth GAA sent the team training in Dundalk for the 1913 Croke Memorial replay under a soccer trainer from Belfast. For thirty years full-time training in bursts of a week or so before a big match were common, after that the two or three times a week gatherings became more popular. Between 1945 and 1953 Louth and Meath met 13 times, the crowds got bigger and bigger each time as they played draw after draw in the Championship. The attendance of 42,858 at a thrilling 1951 replay remained a record for a provincial match other than a final for forty years the four series between Meath and Dublin in 1991. The rivalry with Meath has never fizzled out, as witnessed by a stirring Leinster semi-final in 1998, nor has controversy, as witnessed by Graham Geraghtys wide 45th minute point. In 1957 showband star Dermot OBrien was late for the All-Ireland final, prior to the game OBrien had captained the side in the semi final success, when the regular captain Patsy Coleman had been injured. Both Ardee men tossed a coin to see who would captain the team, Coleman today still has the match ball. OBrien played a key role as Louth beat Cork with the help of a goal from Sean Cunningham with five minutes to go, Dermot OBrien died on 21 May 2007. As both Cork and Louth wear Red and White, on that day Louth wore the green of Leinster, while Cork wore the blue of Munster. Eamonn McEneaney was manager from 2006 to 2009 and guided them to their most recent success, on 27 June 2010, Louth reached their first Leinster Senior Championship Final in 50 years. However, Meath received the 2010 Leinster Title and the cup, Louth have been represented by two players in the International Rules versus Australia in recent years, Paddy Keenan and Ciaran Byrne. On 11 July 2010, Louth reached the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final where they took on neighbours Meath, Meath won what was a highly controversial match. Deep into injury time in the 74th minute of the match and he did so after a brief consultation with only one of the match umpires, although television coverage of the game showed that the ball had been carried over the line by Meath player Joe Sherdian. Prior to the decision, Meath were trailing Louth by one point. The referee blew his whistle shortly afterwards, the goal proved to be the decisive score

19.
Meath GAA
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OMahonys lost to Arravale Rovers of Tipperary by 0-4 to 0-3. The county had to wait until 1939 for its appearance at All-Ireland level. In the intervening period, the county had achieved its first national success by winning the National League of 1933, All-Ireland success finally came in 1949 when Meath beat Cavan in the final by 1-10 to 1-6. This first great Meath team achieved a title in 1954, beating Kerry in the final. In between these two successes, they appeared in two finals, losing in 1951 and 1952 to Mayo and Cavan, respectively. They also lost out in the National League final of 1951 to Cavan, during this period, their Leinster Championship rivalry with Louth became legendary, in the six provincial championships between 1948 and 1953 the sides met each year. The 1949 match went to three meetings, while those of 1950 and 1951 were replayed, Meath were beaten in the 1966 All-Ireland final by a legendary Galway team that was winning its third All-Ireland title in a row. After the 1966 final defeat, centre-back Bertie Cunningham declared that year, we will come back. Sure enough, Terry Kearns secured the Sam Maguire Cup for Meath with a goal in the 1967 final to defeat Cork. Meath won the National Football League in 1975 and looked a promising prospect for the All-Ireland, defeat at the hands of Kevin Heffernans Dublin team, however, was an indication of what was to come. Meath looked far from All-Ireland Championship material when losing to Wexford in 1981, Boylans first task was to prepare Meath for an opening match against a Dublin team led by legendary midfielder Brian Mullins. The first match resulted in a draw, as a result of a ricochet shot from Barney Rock against new Meath half back Colm Coyle. The replay also ended with scores, with Boylan gaining public support as a trainer of real substance. Dublin, however, went on to win the replay in extra time. Meath not yet being seen as Championship-winning material, in 1984 the GAA initiated a one-off prestigious competition called the Centenary Cup, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the GAAs foundation. Despite a concerted effort by the Kerry team, the Centenary Cup final was played between Meath and Monaghan. Meath emerged victorious, and when Boylan was asked for comment, the 1980s team progressed cautiously towards victory. They missed full-back Mick Lyons for the 1984 Leinster final against Dublin and in 1985 slipped up against Laois in the semi-final

20.
Laois GAA
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Laois are a dual county, enjoying comparative success at both Gaelic football and hurling. In recent times Laois have been more successful footballers than hurlers, Laois minors have had considerable success over the past two decades, and the Laois senior footballers reached the Leinster final in 2003,2004, and 2005. Laois hurlers currently compete in the Liam MacCarthy Cup, a reserved for the premiere hurling counties. Laois contested the second ever All-Ireland final in 1889 and also won the first ever National Football League final beating Dublin in the 1926 final,1936 saw the only other appearance by Laois in an All-Ireland senior decider. Laois beat Monaghan by a point in the 1986 National Football League final, Liam Irwin and Colm Browne both won All Stars for their performances that year. During the 1990s Laois had a number of successes at Minor and U-21 level, during the mid-2000s Laois Gaelic football became a strong force at all age levels. Under former Kerry and Kildare manager Mick ODwyer, Laois were National Football League runners-up, Laois would go on to contest the Leinster Senior Football Championship Final again in 2004 and 2005. During the same period the Minor team were All-Ireland Minor Champions in 2003, in 2006, Mick ODwyers management of Laois ended and he was replaced by the former Limerick manager, Liam Kearns. After two years Liam Kearns was replaced by Sean Dempsey in 2008, after three seasons in charge, McNulty stepped down to be replaced by Tomás Ó Flatharta. In addition, all compete in the All-County Football League from Division 1 down to Division 5. Laois currently competes in the Liam MacCarthy Cup, but has won three All-Ireland Senior B Hurling Championships. Laois most recently contested the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship final in 1985, in addition, all teams compete in the All-County Hurling League from Division 1 down to Division 5. Laois won the Nancy Murray Cup in 2007 and they won the third division of the National Camogie League in 2010. They won the under-16 B title in 2000

21.
Offaly GAA
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For more details of Offaly GAA see Offaly Senior Football Championship or Offaly Senior Hurling Championship. The Offaly County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Offaly GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, separate county boards are also responsible for the Offaly inter-county teams. As a result, the county won six Leinster titles in the 1980s, the county has since gone on to win three other All-Irelands. Perhaps Offalys most famous win came in the All-Ireland Final of 1994 in what has come to be remembered as the five minute final. Limerick looked set to win their first All-Ireland title since 1973 until Offaly staged one of the greatest comebacks of all time and they defeated Limerick by 3-16 to 2-13. The Vocational Schools team has made it to 12 All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championship finals but have never won one. The match was a repeat of the years final, however, not only that. Kerry were winning by two points with two minutes to go when Séamus Darby came on as a substitute and scored one of the most famous goals in Gaelic football of all time. Kerry fumbled the counterattack which allowed Offaly to win by one point with a score of 1-15 to 0-17. Offaly won their first major titles in 2002 when they won the second division of the National Camogie League. Drumcullen reached the final of the All Ireland club junior championship in 2003, kinnity owon the Division 3 shield at Féile na nGael in 1997, Drumcullen won the Coiste Chontae an Chláir Shield in 1997. Notable players include soaring star award winners Karen Brady, Elaine Dermody, Audrey Kennedy, Michaela Morkan, Fiona Stephens, miriam O’Callaghan served as president of the Camogie Association). Under Camogie’s National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion, ” five new camogie clubs are to be established in the county by 2015

22.
Tullamore
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Tullamore is a town in County Offaly, in the midlands of Ireland. It is Offalys county town and is located in the centre of the county, Tullamore was designated a gateway town, along with Mullingar and Athlone, in late 2003 by the Irish Government, making it eligible for increased infrastructural investment. The town retained Gold Medal status in the National Tidy Town Awards in 2015, the Tullamore Show is held near the town every year. The towns most famous export is Tullamore Dew – an Irish whiskey distilled by Tullamore Distillery – that can be traced back to 1829, the original distillery shut down in the 1954, with the brand later being resurrected and produced at the Midleton Distillery, in Cork. However, the new owners, William Grant & Sons, invested in a new distillery near Tullamore. In ancient Gaelic Ireland, Tullamore was located in what was known as the landfill territory of Firceall ruled by the OMolloy clan. Firceall was then part of the ancient Kingdom of Meath, following the plantation of Offaly in the 16th and 17th centuries, Firceall was divided into the baronies of Ballycowan, Ballyboy and Eglish, with Tullamore located in Ballycowan. Tullamore was part of the first English plantation of Offaly in the 1570s, by the mid-1500s the lands that were originally ruled by the OMolloy clan were securely planted and in the hands of the Moore family. From this point on a dynasty was established which endured into the nineteenth century, commencing with the grant of the Tullamore area, comprising some 5000 acres. At that time the Tullamore estate included a castle, ten cottages. Sir Robert Forth, who leased the lands from Thomas Moore, Charles Moore, Lord Tullamore, grandson of Thomas, eventually regained possession of the estate and when he died in 1674 it went via his sister to Charles William Bury. Charles William was later created the 1st Earl of Charleville in a creation of the title. To this day, the shield depicts a phoenix rising from the ashes. The event is commemorated by the Phoenix festival which celebrates Tullamores resurrection from the ashes following the accident. The Grand Canal linked Tullamore to Dublin in 1798, during the Napoleonic Wars, a clash between troops of the Kings German Legion and a regiment of British Light Infantry who were both stationed in the town, became known as the Battle of Tullamore. Tullamore became county town of County Offaly in 1835, replacing Daingean, Tullamore has a long history of whiskey distilling, with two distilleries known to have operated in the two in the 1780s, though closed some years later. Subsequently, a new distillery, was established by Michael Molloy, when Molloy died, the distillery first passed to his brother Anthony, before eventually making its way into the hands of his nephew, Bernard Daly. When Daly died, his son, Captain Bernard Daly took ownership of the business, Williams brought electricity to Tullamore in 1893

23.
Wicklow GAA
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The Wicklow County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Wicklow GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Wicklow. The county board is responsible for the Wicklow inter-county teams. Wicklows Senior Football team play in the Leinster Senior Football Championship, Wicklows Senior Hurling team compete in the Christy Ring Cup, the second tier of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. They reached the final in both the 2011 and 2012 cups losing to Kerry and London respectively, Wicklow were twice proclaimed Leinster champions for short periods. But four days later the result was quashed, in 1897 they became Leinster champions for a week. A downpour caused Dublin to presume the Leinster final would not be played, Dublin went home, but the following meeting of the Central Council ordered the match to be replayed and Wicklow lost by 1-9 to 0-3. A League semi-final in frostbound 1947 came about in bizarre fashion, in 1954 Wicklow were leading Meath by two points after sixty minutes of play but Meath were saved by the clock. Nine minutes of lost time had elapsed before Meath scored the winning point, after surviving the long count Meath went on to win the All-Ireland, and Wicklow lost their best player of the decade, John Timmons, to Dublin. A near thing against Meath, just off their four-match with Dublin in 1991 heralded a great start to the 1990s, but Wicklows only championship wins since were against Longford and Westmeath, and a 1996 League quarter-final appearance against Donegal their nearest to a breakthrough. Lying in wait for complacent opponents, particularly in Aughrim, for unsuspecting opposition has been the Wicklow trademark since, Wicklows biggest achievement remains the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship won by the Baltinglass club in 1990. Their biggest Leinster Championship win, and first ever in Croke Park, coming against Kildare in 2008, in 2009 ODwyer again guided Wicklow past the first round as they beat Longford 2-12 to 1-13 in Portlaoise. Understandably, Wicklow had not won a championship game at Croke Park until May 2008. On 18 May 2008, under Mick ODwyer Wicklow beat a very poor Kildare in Croke Park, under the management of Hugh Kenny Wicklow lined out against Meath in the opening round of the 2004 Leinster Championship. They were playing well and were leading Meath by 1-6 to 0-7 early in the second half when midfielder Ciaran Clancy was harshly sent off. This seemed to knock the stuffing out of Wicklow who never recovered and were hammered 2-13 to 1-8 and it then took Louth two replays to finish off Wicklow which they ultimately did in style back at Croke Park. As Wicklow were a Division 4 team they were not permitted to enter the 2007 backdoor, Wicklow did very well in reaching the final where they faced Antrim at Croke Park. They won the match in dramatic fashion with a late Tommy Gill goal in time, securing the Wicklow senior footballers second ever national trophy. The following year after defeat to Laois in the Leinster Championship, Wicklow got to the final of the Tommy Murphy Cup again, only a late point from John Connolly saved Galway from defeat

24.
Wexford
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Wexford is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 National Primary Route, and it has a population of 19,913 according to the 2011 census. The town was founded by the Vikings in about 800 AD and they named it Veisafjǫrðr, meaning inlet of the mud flats, and the name has changed only slightly into its present form. Veisa in modern Norwegian means Way, so Veisafjǫrðr could have meant inlet of the way or Way Fjord. The resulting loch was thus named Loch Garman, for about three hundred years it was a Viking town, a city state, largely independent and owing only token dues to the Irish kings of Leinster. However, in May 1169 Wexford was besieged by Dermot MacMurrough, King of Leinster and his Norman ally, the Norse inhabitants resisted fiercely, until the Bishop of Ferns persuaded them to accept a settlement with Dermot. Wexford was an Old English settlement in the Middle Ages, an old dialect of English, known as Yola, was spoken uniquely in Wexford up until the 19th century. The Yola name for Wexford was Weiseforthe, following the Crusades, the Knights Templar had a presence in Wexford. Up to the present, their name is perpetuated in the old Knights Templars chapel yard of St. Johns Cemetery, County Wexford produced strong support for Confederate Ireland during the 1640s. A fleet of Confederate privateers was based in Wexford town, consisting of sailors from Flanders and their vessels raided English Parliamentarian shipping, giving some of the proceeds to the Confederate government in Kilkenny. As a result, the town was sacked by the English Parliamentarians during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649, many of its inhabitants were killed and much of the town was burned. In 1659 Solomon Richards was appointed Governor, but he was dismissed and imprisoned following the Restoration the next year, County Wexford was the centre of the 1798 rebellion against British rule. Redmond Square, near the station, commemorates the elder John Edward Redmond who was Liberal MP for the city of Wexford. The inscription reads, My heart is with the city of Wexford, nothing can extinguish that love but the cold soil of the grave. His nephew William Archer Redmond sat as an MP in Isaac Butts Home Rule Party from 1872 until 1880, Willie Redmond sat as an MP for Wexford from 1883 until 1885. The younger John Redmond, was a follower of Charles Stewart Parnell. He is interred in the Redmond family vault, at the old Knights Templars chapel yard of St. Johns Cemetery, Upper St. Johns Street

25.
Westmeath GAA
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The Westmeath County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Westmeath GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Westmeath. The county board is responsible for the Westmeath inter-county teams. Westmeaths GAA history is that of a county which only recently rose to the higher ranks of Gaelic football. Its 2004 Leinster provincial title was presaged by a 1995 All-Ireland Minor title, another generation of Westmeath players took part in the first week-night fixture in the GAA championship, on 20 June 1935 they played Meath in Kells and lost by 2-7 to 0-9. The footballers won the 1929 junior championship, lost to Dublin by ten points in 1960 and they beat Carlow, Laois and Offaly to go into a 1949 final against Meath, but were well beaten on both occasions. Twenty years later they reached the National Football League semi-final, Westmeath beat Dublin again in the 1967 Championship and the 1984 Centenary Cup campaign and qualified for their second League semi-final in 1994. In 2001, the team went on an All-Ireland journey through an unprecedented nine games including an extra time win over Mayo in Roscommon, Westmeath lost out to Meath in a quarter-final replay. Disappointing 2002 and 2003 seasons followed and Westmeath parted terms with its then manager, Kerry footballing legend Páidí Ó Sé was brought in to manage the senior team some months later, after he had been removed from the Kerry Senior team management. The following year, Westmeath progressed to the 2004 Leinster Senior Football Championship Final, however the team tamely exitted their second All-Ireland Quarter Final - losing to Derry. The documentary Marooned followed Westmeath during their 2004 season, Ó Sé quit Westmeath at the end of a very poor 2005 season and was replaced by his assistant Tomás Ó Flatharta. After a poor campaign, in which they were nevertheless promoted from Division 2. Westmeath did not live up to expectations in the Quarter Final meeting against Dublin, the score line was Westmeath 0-15, Dublin 0-10. In the Quarter-Finals of the Leinster Championship in 2009 they were beaten by Dublin by 27 points, Ó Flatharta resigned as Westmeath manager after their defeat to neighbours Meath on 11 July 2009. Results have improved in recent years and they have reached consecutive Leinster Finals in 2015 and 2016 and they played in the first division of the National Hurling League in 1985-86, and were the only team to beat Galway in an 18-month period. This team included the 3 Kilcoyne brothers and produced an All Star award for David who was the teams free taker, the first All Star award for any Westmeath player in Hurling or football. Rickardstowns John Jobber McGrath is considered the greatest player to play hurling for Westmeath. The senior hurlers beat Carlow by 2 points in the Leinster Qualifier group and extended their winning run beating favourites, the hurlers currently play in the third tier of the National Hurling League while the footballers play in the fourth tier of the National Football League respectively. In 2005, the county won the first Christy Ring Cup, in 2006, they beat Dublin in the first round of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship before losing the semi final to Kilkenny in Mullingar by 14 points

26.
Croke Park
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Croke Park is a GAA stadium located in Dublin, Ireland. Named in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke, it is often called Croker by some GAA fans and it serves both as the principal stadium and headquarters of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Since 1884 the site has been used primarily by the GAA to host Gaelic games, most notably the annual All-Ireland finals in football and hurling. Both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2003 Special Olympics, during the construction of the Aviva Stadium, Croke Park hosted games played by the Ireland national rugby union team and the Republic of Ireland national football team. The area now known as Croke Park was owned in the 1880s by Maurice Butterly and known as the City and Suburban Racecourse, from 1890 it was also used by the Bohemian Football Club. In 1901 Jones Road hosted the IFA Cup football final when Cliftonville defeated Freebooters, recognising the potential of the Jones Road sports ground a journalist and GAA member, Frank Dineen, borrowed much of the £3,250 asking price and bought the ground in 1908. In 1913 the GAA came into ownership of the plot when they purchased it from Dineen for £3,500. The ground was then renamed Croke Park in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke, in 1913, Croke Park had only two stands on what is now known as the Hogan stand side and grassy banks all round. In 1917, a hill was constructed on the railway end of Croke Park to afford patrons a better view of the pitch. This terrace was known as Hill 16 as it was built from the ruins of the 1916 Easter Rising, in the 1920s, the GAA set out to create a high capacity stadium at Croke Park. Following the Hogan Stand, the Cusack Stand, named after Michael Cusack from Clare, was built in 1927,1936 saw the first double-deck Cusack Stand open with 5,000 seats, and concrete terracing being constructed on Hill 16. In 1952 the Nally Stand was built in memorial of Pat Nally, seven years later, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the GAA, the first cantilevered New Hogan Stand was opened. The highest attendance recorded at an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final was 90,556 for Offaly v Down in 1961. Since the introduction of seating to the Cusack stand in 1966, during the Irish War of Independence on 21 November 1920 Croke Park was the scene of a massacre by the Royal Irish Constabulary. The Police, supported by the British Auxiliary Division entered the ground, the dead included 13 spectators and Tipperary player, Michael Hogan. Posthumously, the Hogan stand built in 1924 was named in his honour, in 1984 the organisation decided to investigate ways to increase the capacity of the old stadium. The design for an 80,000 capacity stadium was completed in 1991, Gaelic sports have special requirements as they take place on a large field. A specific requirement was to ensure the spectators were not too far from the field of play and this resulted in the three-tier design from which viewing games is possible, the main concourse, a premium level incorporating hospitality facilities and an upper concourse

27.
Dublin
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Dublin is the capital and largest city of Ireland. Dublin is in the province of Leinster on Irelands east coast, the city has an urban area population of 1,345,402. The population of the Greater Dublin Area, as of 2016, was 1,904,806 people, founded as a Viking settlement, the Kingdom of Dublin became Irelands principal city following the Norman invasion. The city expanded rapidly from the 17th century and was briefly the second largest city in the British Empire before the Acts of Union in 1800, following the partition of Ireland in 1922, Dublin became the capital of the Irish Free State, later renamed Ireland. Dublin is administered by a City Council, the city is listed by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network as a global city, with a ranking of Alpha-, which places it amongst the top thirty cities in the world. It is a historical and contemporary centre for education, the arts, administration, economy, the name Dublin comes from the Irish word Dubhlinn, early Classical Irish Dubhlind/Duibhlind, dubh /d̪uβ/, alt. /d̪uw/, alt /d̪u, / meaning black, dark, and lind /lʲiɲ pool and this tidal pool was located where the River Poddle entered the Liffey, on the site of the castle gardens at the rear of Dublin Castle. In Modern Irish the name is Duibhlinn, and Irish rhymes from Dublin County show that in Dublin Leinster Irish it was pronounced Duílinn /d̪ˠi, other localities in Ireland also bear the name Duibhlinn, variously anglicized as Devlin, Divlin and Difflin. Historically, scribes using the Gaelic script wrote bh with a dot over the b and those without knowledge of Irish omitted the dot, spelling the name as Dublin. Variations on the name are found in traditionally Irish-speaking areas of Scotland, such as An Linne Dhubh. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. Baile Átha Cliath, meaning town of the ford, is the common name for the city in modern Irish. Áth Cliath is a name referring to a fording point of the River Liffey near Father Mathew Bridge. Baile Átha Cliath was an early Christian monastery, believed to have been in the area of Aungier Street, there are other towns of the same name, such as Àth Cliath in East Ayrshire, Scotland, which is Anglicised as Hurlford. Although the area of Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans since prehistoric times and he called the settlement Eblana polis. It is now thought that the Viking settlement was preceded by a Christian ecclesiastical settlement known as Duibhlinn, beginning in the 9th and 10th century, there were two settlements where the modern city stands. The subsequent Scandinavian settlement centred on the River Poddle, a tributary of the Liffey in an area now known as Wood Quay, the Dubhlinn was a small lake used to moor ships, the Poddle connected the lake with the Liffey. This lake was covered during the early 18th century as the city grew, the Dubhlinn lay where the Castle Garden is now located, opposite the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle

28.
Dublin GAA
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The Dublin Gaelic football team is the most supported GAA team in terms of attendance which is made up of 286 clubs. The team and its fans are known as The Dubs or The Jacks, the fans have a special affiliation with the Hill 16 end of Croke Park. Dublin GAA has jurisdiction over the area that is associated with the county of County Dublin. There are 9 officers on the Board including the Cathaoirleach, Seán Shanley, for details on the Boards clubs, see Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in County Dublin and List of Gaelic games clubs in Ireland. The Board is subject to the Leinster GAA Provincial Council, the teams of Dublin GAA play home games at Parnell Park, Donnycarney on the northside of the city, although Croke Park is used for major matches at the request of the GAA. Parnell Park also hosts all the games in the Dublin club Football. The current senior manager is Jim Gavin. The current senior hurling team manager is Ger Cunningham, meanwhile, the hurlers retained their status in the Liam MacCarthy Cup. Plans to divide Dublin into two teams – North Dublin and South Dublin – were proposed in 2002 but rejected by the Dublin County Board, currently the Board has only decided to divide its development teams. These teams are not considered to be a move towards dividing the county but are in fact a move designed to identify, the restructured developments teams are North, South and West. Dublin supporters are known as The Dubs, and in the 1970s as Heffos army. While songs are popular with the Dublin fans they tend to be Dublin-centric such as Molly Malone. The Hill 16 end in Croke Park is an area for which many Dubs hold a special affection, Dublin supporters have been known to chant Hill 16 is Dublin only as a humorous jibe at supporters from rival teams. The Dublin team are sometimes called The Jacks with the ladies called The Jackies and these names came from a shortening of the word Jackeen. Notable fans include Jim Stynes, golfer Pádraig Harrington, rugby union star Brian ODriscoll, in 2003/4, the Dublin County Board tried unsuccessfully to copyright the Dublin crest in use at the time. The crest at the time was declared to be in the domain by the Irish High Court as it was too similar to other crests in use by Dublin City Council. The name Áth Cliath in Irish replaces the previous name Dublin, till 1918, Dublin wore the colours of the Club Champions as many other counties. The change to the present look, with blue details, shorts

29.
Tipperary GAA
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For a list of honours won by Tipperary in hurling, football, camogie and handall competitions see Tipperary GAA honours. For a history of GAA in Tipperary in see History of Tipperary inter county teams, County Tipperary holds an honoured place in the history of the GAA as the organisation was founded in Hayes Hotel, Thurles, on 1 November 1884. Tipperary are currently sponsored by Intersport/Elverys, a sponsorship that covers both the hurling and football codes and includes all grades from minor to senior inter-county teams, Tipperary GAA has jurisdiction over the area that is associated with the traditional county of County Tipperary. There are 9 officers on the Board including the Cathaoirleach, Sean Nugent, the original colours of Tipperary GAA were a white jersey with a green diagonal sash. This jersey design is associated with Tipperarys most historic match in either code, the current jersey is blue with a gold central band. This crest was used until the late 1990s when the current crest, four Tipperary men have served as President of the GAA. Maurice Davin is also the man to have served two terms as President while Seán Ryan represented Dublin from 1928 to 1932, though a native of Kilfeacle. Mr. Ryan a solicitor based in the capital, was the Associations legal advisor over a period and played a central role in the acquisition and vesting of many club. Maurice Davin 1884–1887 Maurice Davin 1888–1889 Seán Ryan 1928–1932 Séamus Gardiner 1943–1946 Séamus ORíain 1967–1970 In the All-Ireland series and this rivalry has lasted since Kilkennys coming to power in the early 20th century. Tipp are the team to have beaten Kilkenny in the All Ireland senior hurling championship more times than they have lost. Another rival of Tipperary is Cork in the Munster Championship and these teams have met 80 times in the championship, more than any other rivalry in hurling. They have also met them countless times in the National League, a Tipp and Cork Munster hurling final in Semple Stadium is often claimed by supporters of both counties to be the most traditional Munster final and the games between them are nearly always close. The draw and replay games of 1987 and 1991 and the 1949–1954 rivalry encapsulates this rivalry and this is one of the few rivalries in the provincial championships that is contested by two teams of similar stature whose honours and titles complement each other on a fairly equal basis. Kilkenny and Wexford in hurling have major difference in titles and in football, Dublin, the football teams of Galway and Mayo enjoy a similar rivalry and whose honours are divided in equal measure. Tipperarys team colors are blue and gold. Tipperary wear blue jerseys with a gold bar across the center along with white shorts. The Tippeary team crest features the Rock of Cashel prominently with two crossed hurleys and a Gaelic football below, in the year 1884 when Tipperary GAA was founded is in the center of the crest. The teams of the Tipperary County Board, together with Kilkenny GAA, the Boards teams have won 27 All-Ireland titles as of 2016 - the third most successful of all county boards

30.
Kerry senior football team
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The Kerry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Kerry. The county board is responsible for the Kerry inter-county teams. The Kerry branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association was founded in the year 1888, Gaelic football is the dominant sport in the county, with both the mens and womens teams among the strongest in the country at senior level. In hurling, the mens side compete in the sports premier inter-county competition, Kerry have been the most successful team in the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, topping the list of counties for All-Irelands won. They have won the competition on 37 occasions, including two four-in-a-rows and two three-in-a-rows, the teams current crest, which came into use in 2012, features design elements that represent the county, Kerry’s people, landscape, flora, fauna and artistry. These animals are believed to have had a presence in Ireland since the end of the last Ice Age and are steeped in folklore. The previous crest, shown on the right, which was used from 1988 to 2011 was based more on Irish and Celtic symbolism, featuring a church, an Irish Wolfhound. Kerry traditional colours are gold and green and the county team kits are composed by a shirt with a single golden hoop, white shorts and green. In the early days of the All-Ireland Football Championship, counties were represented by the county champions, Kerrys first represpentatives were from Laune Rangers, and the blue of Laune Rangers was worn in Kerrys first championship outing in 1889. The royal blue of Laune Rangers were also worn in the 1892 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, between 1889 and 1895 inclusive, the teams that went forward to represent Kerry were Laune Rangers and Ballymacelligott, who both wore blue. One account says that it was a red jersey with green neck and cuffs, another account says that it was an entirely red jersey with no green in it. The reason that Kerry wore this red or mainly red jersey was that a new set of green, for the later games in the 1903 series of games, Kerry wore green jerseys with gold on the cuffs and over the shoulders. These were the colours of the Tralee Mitchels senior team, the classic style is green with a gold hoop. The colours have changed only rarely, most of all in the 80s finals against Offaly to avoid again colour clashes. In the 1939 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final Kerry were to play Meath, to avoid a colour clash, Kerry wore the red and white of Dingle, the county champions at the time. The change kit is blue, reflecting the Munster GAA colours. Kerrys inter-county teams are sponsored by the Kerry Group, in one of the longest standing sponsorship arrangements in the GAA, the teams have been connected with the Kerry Group since sponsorship became more open in the GAA in the early 1990s. Kerrys jerseys are provided by ONeills sportswear

31.
Charleville, County Cork
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Charleville is a town in north County Cork, Ireland. It lies in the Golden Vale, on a tributary of the River Maigue, Charleville is on the N20 road and is the second-largest town between Limerick and Cork. The Roman Catholic parish of Charleville is within the Diocese of Cloyne, significant industries in the town include Kerry Co-Op and the construction and services sectors. The old name for the place was Rathcogan, later Rathgogan or Rathgoggan, the name means Cogans rath, after the family of Miles de Cogan, granted lands there after the 12th-century Norman invasion. The new town begun by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery in 1661 was named Charleville after Charles II, later Irish speakers referred to the town as An Ráth the rath, a short form of the older Irish name. The name Ráth Luirc was first attached to Charleville in an 1849 collection of 18th-century Irish-language poems with English translations, the translation of an aisling by Conchúbhar Máistir Ó Ríordáin interpreted Ráth Loirc as denoting the town of Charleville. T. F. ORahilly felt that Ráth Loirc, like the more common Clár Loirc, was a name for Ireland. D. A. Binchy felt the term, also used by Aogán Ó Rathaille, did refer to a specific place, after the 1920 local elections, Sinn Féin-dominated councils loyal to the self-proclaimed Irish Republic often sought to replace placenames having British monarchic allusions with older Gaelic names. Although Rathgoggan was mooted by Charleville Rural District Council, Risteárd Ó Foghladha advised that Ráth Luirc was the old name, Ó Foghladh claimed Lorc was an ancient king of Munster, in fact Lóegaire Lorc was a mythical High King of Ireland. Thus the town had the position that its English-language legal name was an Irish name different from its Irish-language legal name. The name Charleville remained in common use, in December 1989, a plebiscite of residents under the Local Government Act 1946 voted on four names, of 2200 electors,1500 voted, over 90% for Charleville. Official documents before and after 1989 have often used Rathluirc or similar formulations, Local sports teams have a rath or fort in their crest, reflecting the Irish name. Charleville was founded in 1661 by Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery, Roger Boyle had been a supporter of Oliver Cromwell in the English Civil War. When King Charles II was restored in 1660, he had to prove his loyalty to the crown and he did this by naming Charleville after the English king. During the time of the Penal Laws, practising the Catholic faith was illegal, as a result, the parish of Charleville was amalgamated with the parishes Bruree and Colmanswell, both in the Diocese of Limerick. Daniel Mac Namara of Bruree was registered as the Catholic priest for this very large pastoral area, the fact that Catholics had to attend Mass secretly meant that the old chapel in Holy Cross cemetery was abandoned. The remains of this church – now overgrown with ivy – are still to be seen in the centre of the graveyard. Upon one such gravestone is a Latin epithaph to none other than Seán Clárach Mac Domhnaill, who was, in his time, Charleville is geographically located at the heart of Munster, within the Golden Vale region

32.
Waterford GAA
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The County Board is also responsible for the Waterford inter-county teams. The county boards offices are based at Walsh Park in the city of Waterford, the Waterford County Board was founded in 1886. Hurling is generally regarded the dominant sport, with the county having won the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship twice, while Gaelic football is the secondary sport in the county, it is widely played nonetheless. Waterfords greatest achievement in Gaelic football was reaching the 1898 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final, founded in 1886, the Waterford GAA board administers Gaelic Games at all levels in County Waterford, Ireland. This includes the sports of hurling, gaelic football, Gaelic handball, the board officiates over both senior and underage competitions and both championship and league competitions in the county. The board is responsible for both hurling and gaelic football inter-county teams. The county is known prominently as The Déise after the name of an ancient Irish kingdom which covered a vast part of modern County Waterford, Waterfords present colours are white and blue. Both inter-county teams play in shirts, with blue trim along with blue shorts. Prior to 2002, the county wore white shorts, the present jerseys are manufactured by local Waterford company, Azzurri Sportswear. ONeills previously made the jersey up to 2002, Waterford hurling & football are presently sponsored by 3, and have been since 2010. While todays jersey is white with trim, Waterfords jersey was originally Royal Blue and White, with white shorts. The change to todays jersey was made in 1936, today, Waterford uses a blue jersey as its second jersey in case of a clash of colours. The present crest was introduced in 2009 and features three viking longboats from the crest of Waterford City, and a representation of the tower in Ardmore. The crest introduced in 2009 was a refinement of a crest introduced in 2003. The new crest replaced the original crest of Waterford City, the new crest was introduced as the Waterford GAA board were unable to copyright the old one due to it being a civil crest. The Waterford County Board was established in 1886 in Kilmacthomas and played in the Munster Championship for the first time in 1888, the next fourteen years would consist of walkovers, first round defeats and not entering the competition at all. Waterford would finally win a match for the first time in 1903. In their first Munster final, which did not take place until 1904, at this stage, Waterford was still the only county in Munster not to have won the provincial or All-Ireland hurling title, but there were signs of improvement

33.
Waterford
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Waterford is a city in Ireland. It is in the South-East Region, Ireland and is part of the province of Munster, the city is situated at the head of Waterford Harbour. It is the oldest and the fifth most populous city in the Republic of Ireland and it is the eighth most populous city on the island of Ireland. Waterford City and County Council is the government authority for the city. Waterford is known for Waterford Crystal, a legacy of the citys former glass-making industry, according to the 2011 Census,65,928 people live in the Waterford Metropolitan District, however this figure does not include its suburbs in County Kilkenny and County Wexford. There are over 80,000 people within a 15 km radius of the city centre, with a population of 51,519, Waterford is the fifth most populous city in the State and the 32nd most populous area of local government. Following the Local Government Reform Act 2014, Waterford City and County Council is the government authority for the city. The authority came into operation on 1 June 2014, prior to this the city had its own local council, Waterford City Council. The new Council is the result of a merger of Waterford City Council, the Council has 32 representatives who are elected from five electoral areas. The city itself forms three of the electoral areas – which when combined form the Metropolitan District of Waterford –, residents in these areas are restricted to voting for candidates located in their ward for local elections. The office of the Mayor of Waterford was established in 1377, a mayor is then elected by the councillors from the two electoral areas of the Metropolitan District of Waterford every year, and there is no limit to the number of terms an individual may serve. Mary OHalloran who was mayor during 2007–2008 was the first woman to hold the post, the current mayor is Adam Wyse. The constituency elects four deputies to Dáil Éireann, there are no such ward restrictions for these elections and voters are entitled to vote for any candidate throughout the city and county. The name Waterford comes from Old Norse Veðrafjǫrðr, meaning ram fjord, the Irish name is Port Láirge, meaning Lárags port. Viking raiders first established a settlement near Waterford in 853 and it and all the other longphorts were vacated in 902, the Vikings having been driven out by the native Irish. Among the most prominent rulers of Waterford was Ivar of Waterford, in 1167, Diarmait Mac Murchada, the deposed King of Leinster, failed in an attempt to take Waterford. He returned in 1170 with Cambro-Norman mercenaries under Richard de Clare, 2nd Earl of Pembroke, together they besieged, in furtherance of the Norman invasion of Ireland, King Henry II of England landed at Waterford in 1171. Waterford and then Dublin were declared cities, with Dublin also declared capital of Ireland

34.
Cork GAA
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It is one of the constituent counties of Munster GAA. Cork is one of the few counties in Ireland, competing in a similar level in both gaelic football and hurling. As of the end of the 2015 National Leagues, Cork compete in the top division of both sports, by comparison, Cork has only won All-Ireland Senior Football Championship seven times. Traditionally football is strongest in the half of the county. Hurling is the dominant sport in the east, with such as Sarsfields. Naturally, there are exceptions to this rule of thumb, with hurling pockets in football areas, one example is Fermoy in east Cork, which has seven Cork football titles to its name. As well as this, the St. Finbarrs club in the city has eight Cork football titles and 25 in hurling, Corks current GAA crest is based on the traditional coat of arms of Cork city. Like the coat of arms, the crest features the Kings old castle, the centre foreground of the crest features a ship, as does the coat of arms. This is due to Corks history as a city, also shown in the city motto Statio Bene Fida Carinis. The badge also features two footballs, along with a pair of hurleys. Corks traditional colours are red and white, but this was not always the case, in its early days of competing, the county wore a blue jersey with a saffron-coloured C emblazoned on the chest. This was changed in 1919 when the Cork hurlers were preparing to play Dublin in the All-Ireland Final, in the week leading up to the game, British forces broke into the county board offices on Maylor Street in the city centre and seized the Cork jerseys. Because of the loss of their kit, the county board borrowed jerseys from the now-defunct Father OLeary Temperance Association team, Cork went on to win the game, ending a sixteen-year spell without a trophy. Following this win Cork decided to wear the red jerseys in their future games. This red and white colour scheme has led to the Cork strip being nicknamed the blood, a colour clash with Louth in the 1957 All-Ireland Football Final saw Cork wear the blue jerseys again, but this occasion saw the team wear the blue jersey of the province of Munster. In 1976 Corks footballers became involved in an incident known as the three stripes affair, before the Munster football final Cork were offered a set of Adidas jerseys. The use of these jerseys caused controversy as it seemed to undermine the promotion of Irish manufacturers, Corks alternative colours are traditionally white jerseys and white shorts. These alternate colours were worn in the 1973 All-Ireland Football Final when Cork defeated Galway to claim their fourth title and they were worn again in the 2010 Final when Cork defeated Down for their seventh title

35.
Limerick GAA
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The Limerick County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Limerick GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Limerick. The county board is responsible for the Limerick inter-county teams. Several books tell the story of Limerick GAA Limerick has a long, in 1897, its first outright success was achieved in hurling when a Kilfinane side defeated Tullaroan of Kilkenny in the final. The county team won the All-Ireland in 1918, a feat repeated in 1921 when they won the inaugural Liam MacCarthy Cup. The sides that achieved those wins contained many players who were on Limerick teams that contested seven Munster finals in a row, the 1930s were the salad days of Limerick hurling, an era in which the county won five National Leagues in a row, a record still unequalled. They also won four Munster Championships in a row, and remain the only county other than Cork to have done so, after winning All-Irelands in 1934 and 1936, another outright success was achieved in 1940. Victory in 1940 left Limerick, with six All-Irelands, as the county outside of the big three, to have won more than one All-Ireland hurling title. Dublin had also six All Ireland Senior Hurling at that time, the county then fell on quieter times and has won only one Senior All Ireland title, in 1973. However six National Leagues were won between 1947 and 1995, and three Under-21 All Irelands in a row in the early 2000s. In 2007 Limerick beat Tipperary in a thrilling Munster Senior Hurling Championship Semi-Final which is now known as the Trilogy, the final score line of the 2nd replay was 0.22 to 2.13. 30,608 fans witnessed this now historic occasion as Limerick had not beaten Tipperary since 1996, however, Limerick subsequently lost the Munster Final to Waterford on 8 July in Thurles. They regrouped and beat Clare in the All-Ireland Quarter-Final on 29 July, Andrew OShaughnessy picked up the Man of the Match award in this match. On 12 August, they played Waterford in the Semi-Final, a rematch of the Munster Final a month previously. Fortunately for Limerick though, the result was not to be the same, a scoreline of 5,11 -2,15 was enough to defeat the Deise Men. The goals came from Donie Ryan, Andrew OShaughnessy and Brian Begley, O Shaughnessy once again picked up the MotM award for his fine display. On 2 September 2007 in Croke Park, Limerick played in the All-Ireland Hurling Final, lady Luck did not strike twice however and it was to be Kilkennys day. Final score, Kilkenny 2-19 - 1-15 Limerick, in 2008, with many predicting that Limerick would secure Munster and All-Ireland titles, the county was drawn against Clare in the first round of the championship. Clare defeated them on a score-line of 4-12 to 1-16 and this meant that Limerick were now entered in a newly revised All-Ireland qualifying system against Offaly

36.
Limerick
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Limerick is a city in county Limerick, Ireland. It is located in the Mid-West Region and is part of the province of Munster. Limerick City and County Council is the authority for the city. The city lies on the River Shannon, with the core of the city located on Kings Island, which is bounded by the Shannon. Limerick is also located at the head of the Shannon Estuary where the river widens before it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 95,854, Limerick is the third most populous area in the state. There are 102,161 people living in the Limerick City Metropolitan District, on 1 June 2014 following the merger of Limerick City and County Council a new Metropolitan District of Limerick was formed within the united council which extended the city area. The Metropolitan District includes the city area and extends outwards towards Patrickswell in the west. The City Metropolitan Area however excludes city suburbs located within County Clare, when included this increases the overall city and metropolitan area by a further 5,000 with a combined total population of 107,161. Limerick is one of the constituent cities of the Cork–Limerick–Galway corridor which has a population of 1 million people and it is located at a strategic position on the River Shannon with four main crossing points near the city centre. To the south of the city is the Golden Vale, an area of rich pastureland, historically, much of the citys industry was based on this rich agricultural hinterland and it is particularly noted for Limerick Ham. Luimneach originally referred to the area along the banks of the Shannon Estuary known as Loch Luimnigh. The earliest settlement in the city, Inis Sibhtonn, was the name for Kings Island during the pre-Viking and Viking eras. This island was also called Inis an Ghaill Duibh, The Dark- Foreigners Island, the name is recorded in Viking sources as Hlymrekr. Antiquitys map-maker, Ptolemy, produced in 150 the earliest map of Ireland, history also records an important battle involving Cormac mac Airt in 221 and a visit by St. Patrick in 434 to baptise an Eóganachta king, Carthann the Fair. Saint Munchin, the first bishop of Limerick died in 652, in 812 the Vikings sailed up the Shannon and pillaged the city, burned the monastery of Mungret but were forced to flee when the Irish attacked and killed many of their number. The Normans redesigned the city in the 12th century and added much of the most notable architecture, such as King Johns Castle, one of the kingdoms most notable kings was Brian Boru, ancestor of the OBrien Clan of Dalcassians. The word Thomond is synonymous with the region and is retained in place such as Thomondgate

37.
Antrim GAA
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For more details on Antrim GAA see Antrim Senior Football Championship or Antrim Senior Hurling Championship. The Antrim County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Antrim GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, the county board is also responsible for the Antrim inter-county teams. Antrim staged the first hurling match under the new Gaelic Athletic Association rules in Ulster in 1885, the games have always been well organised in Belfast city and hurling teams from the Glens have won considerable admiration in club competition. Antrim are the only Ulster county to appear in an All-Ireland hurling final, the first of which was in 1943 losing to Cork, in 1943 Antrim defeated both Galway and Kilkenny in the cramped surroundings of the old Corrigan Park, but disappointed in the All Ireland against Cork. Two years previously, Antrim had been graded Junior a year before and they were only competing in the Senior Championship because the Junior grade was abolished. Antrim hurlers featured strongly in Ulster Railway cup final appearances in 1945,1993 and 1995, in hurling, the progression that began with Loughgiels success at club hurling level in 1983 culminated in an All Ireland final appearance in 1989. The final was one of the poorest on record, as stage fright overcame the Antrim team and it was no flash in the pan, Antrim failed by just two points against Kilkenny in the 1991 All Ireland semi-final. Dunloy were back in the All Ireland club final in 1995, Antrim were the first Ulster county to appear in an All Ireland final, in 1911 and repeated the feat again in 1912, losing on both occasions. Antrims surprise football semi-final success came out of the blue in 1911, the Ulster secretary got sick that year and never organised a provincial Championship. So Antrim arrived with no practice to play Kilkenny and won by 3-1 to 1-1, the following year they beat even more prestigious rivals, Kerry. Heavy rain on the day, and over-indulgence at a wedding the day before were blamed for the shock 3-5 to 0-2 defeat, antrims County Board decision to introduce a City League in 1908, one of the first in Gaelic history, was a more legitimate explanation. The 1946 Antrim football team was regarded as one of the most exciting of the era, joe McCallins two goals helped beat Cavan in the Ulster final but Kerry roughed them out of the All Ireland semi-final. The opening of Casement Park boosted the games in Belfast, but from the late 1960s the troubles hampered sporting life in the heartlands of Belfast. Political violence meant that the county could not build on the team of 1969. The countys Vocational Schools team has made it to 2 All Ireland Finals in 1968 where they beat Galway, the current senior manager is Frank Fitzsimons. Antrim also made history in 2009 by getting to the Ulster Championship final and they were runners-up to All-Ireland champions Tyrone. Andy McCallin -1971 Issac Gerrad Curran -1980 Dual Star, Camogie arrived in 1908 with the foundation of Banba club, but the movement joined by clubs such as Crowleys, Mitchels and Ardoyne was short-lived. A1927 revival was more successful and in 1934 there were three leagues in Belfast, southwest and north Antrim

38.
Down GAA
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The Down County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Down GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Down. The county board is responsible for preparing the Down inter-county teams in the various Gaelic sporting codes, Football, hurling, camogie. Down share with Cavan the Ulster record for most All-Ireland victories at 5, as such, Down is regarded historically as a strong footballing county, and football is widely regarded as the dominant Gaelic sport within the county. In 2013, victory in the Christy Ring Cup final entitled Down to elect, if they chose, the oldest registered club in Down is St Patricks Mayobridge which was affiliated into the GAA on the 30th April 1888. With just one loss in six appearances in All Ireland finals, kitted out in their distinctive red and black, their massive fan base has been responsible for some of the largest match attendances in GAA history. Down was not regarded as a Gaelic stronghold when Queens University won the 1958 Sigerson Cup and they took the 1959 Ulster title with six inter-changeable forwards who introduced off-the-ball running and oddities such as track-suits. In that three-year period their loyal supporters smashed every attendance record in the book, when Down played Offaly in 1961 they set a record attendance of 90,556 for a GAA game. Against Dublin in the 1964 National League final a record 70,125 showed up, the 71,573 who watched them play Kerry in 1961 still stands as a record for an All-Ireland semi-final. In 1968, Down beat Kerry with Sean ONeill and John Murphy goals, despite a famous prediction that Down would go on to win three in a row, the county took twenty years to regain its status. In 1991, they surprised favourites Meath, Barry Breen giving them the goal that sent them into a lead of points with 20 minutes to go. In 1994, Mickey Linden sent James McCartan, Junior in for a goal directly under Hill 16 which silenced Dublin, down teams through the years have played with great emphasis on attack often leading to the neglect of the defence. This system has cost Down teams in the past 10 years or so with the introduction of negative tactics to quell forward lines with a massive emphasis on blanket defence. In 2008, Down defeated Tyrone after a replay in the Ulster Senior Football Championship, down went on to play Offaly in the All-Ireland SFC qualifiers. After a convincing 5-19 to 2-10 victory over Offaly, Down faced Laois in round 2 of the qualifiers. Beating Laois by a point, and with Dan Gordon being sent off. Down had Dan Gordons suspension removed, but awful conditions and poor Down performance resulted in a defeat to Wexford by a 2-13 to 0-12 scoreline, in 2010, Down reached the All-Ireland Final after a narrow win over Kildare in the Semi-Finals. They lost to Cork at GAA Headquarters, the first time Down has tasted defeat in the All-Ireland Final, Cork were three points down at half-time but they upped the ante in the second half and ran out 0-16 to 0-15 winners in the end. Present manager of Down Senior team, in 2010 Dan played in defence

39.
Downpatrick
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Downpatrick is a medium-sized town about 33 km south of Belfast in County Down, Northern Ireland. It has been an important site since ancient times and its cathedral is said to be the burial place of Saint Patrick. Today it is the county town of Down and the joint headquarters of Newry, Mourne and it had a population of 10,822 at the 2011 Census. As the largest town in the Lecale area, Downpatrick is a commercial, recreational and administrative centre for the locality and serves as a hub for the nearby towns and villages. Within a 30 minutes drive from Belfast, the location serves as a town for a large number of people. The town has a number of primary and post-primary schools educating students from all over the east Down area, unfortunately is very behind area not so much shopping there and very bad transportation and weak services as well in this area. Its lowest point lies within the surrounding the north east of the town. Downpatrick is approximately 22 miles from Belfast and has a bus service to the city. An early Bronze Age site was excavated in Downpatrick on the Meadowlands housing estate, one measured over 4 metres in diameter and contained a hearth in the centre, while the other round house was over seven metres across. Some archaeological evidence indicates a Neolithic settlement at the Cathedral Hill site and it then had an undefended settlement at least on the south west of the hill top. Downpatrick or Duno is one of Irelands most ancient and historic towns and it takes its name from a dún, which once stood on the hill that dominates the town and on which Down Cathedral was later built. Ptolemy, about the year AD130, includes it as Dunum in his list of towns of Ireland. The Gaelic name of the town was Rath Celtair, named after the warrior of Ulster called Celtchar, who resided there. He is mentioned in the Ulster Cycle and, in particular, Saint Patrick was reputedly buried here in 461 on Cathedral Hill, together with Saint Brigit and Saint Columba. Down Cathedral was later constructed on this spot and his grave is still a place of pilgrimage on St Patricks Day. The Saint Patrick Visitor Centre in Downpatrick is purpose-built to tell the story of St Patrick, from the seventh century the dominant power in Ulster were the Dál Fiatach so much so that the title Rí Uladh could simultaneously mean King of Ulster and King of the Dál Fiatach. County Down was the ancient centre of the Dál Fiatach lands, in 1137, St. Malachy after resigning as Archbishop of Armagh, separating the two dioceses and appointing another as Bishop of Connor, became the Bishop of Down. He administered the diocese of Dún dá leth glas from Bangor and he repaired and enlarged Down Cathedral

40.
Cavan GAA
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The Cavan County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Cavan GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in Cavan. Cavan GAA has jurisdiction over the area that is associated with the county of County Cavan. There are 8 officers on the Board, for details on the Boards clubs, see Gaelic Athletic Association clubs in County Cavan and List of Gaelic games clubs in Ireland#Cavan. The Board is subject to the Ulster GAA Provincial Council, the teams of Cavan GAA play home games at Kingspan Breffni Park, Cavan. The current football manager is Mattie McGleenan who took over in October 2016, previously Hyland had led the under 21 team to two successive Ulster titles in 2011 and 2012. He also led the team to the All Ireland Under 21 Championship final in 2012 where they lost out to Galway. There was no sponsorship on GAA jerseys until the 2nd game of the Meath V Dublin 4 in a row in 1991 so only a handful of teams had sponsorship in 1991, in 1992 Holybrook Construction sponsored the jerseys although it was only for 1 game. For the 1993-94 seasons Cavan Co-op Mart took over sponsorship, Kingspan has continuously sponsored Cavan since 1995. The first crest that adorned the Cavan jerseys was the Coat of Arms for County Cavan. The crest was split into four quadrants and included the red hand of Ulster encased in an outline of the Franciscan Abbey which is situated in Cavan town, here also lies the remains of an Ulster leader, Eoghan Rua ONeill. The Rampant Lion from the coat of arms of the O’Reilly clans, in 2004 Cavan released a new crest for the Breifne County. The crest was designed by the 38th President of the Gaelic Athletic Association Aogán Farrell, the crest draws on cultural, physical and historical influences. The primary colours are blue and white with Ulsters red hand, the designers wanted to reflect the following elements Breifne, The ancient Gaelic territory. Here the O Reilly’s invited the Franciscans to establish a monastery, the OReilly chieftains are buried here. Here also lie the remains of Ulsters great leader, Eoghan Rua ONeill GAA Logo, the logo is representative of the Gaelic Athletic Association. Red Hand 1886, The first GAA club founded in the province of Ulster was formed in Cavan, Ballyconnell First Ulsters formed in 1885 and affiliated in 1886. The date is preserved in the crest, a red hand has always appeared on Cavan crests. Lakes and Hills, Our landscape is dominated by wee lakes, the environment shapes us and this is reflected on the new crest

41.
Derry GAA
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The Derry County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Derry GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. It is responsible for games in County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. The county board is responsible for the Derry inter-county teams. Gaelic football is the most popular of the county boards gaelic games, the senior football team won an All-Ireland Senior Football Championship in 1993, and has also won six National League titles and seven Ulster Championships. Within a year of the GAAs foundation in 1884, GAA clubs were established around the county in Derry, Desertmartin, however, the administration of Gaelic sports in the county took some time to get properly organised. A Derry county board was established in 1888 and paid affiliation fees to the GAA Central Council, by the following year, although 14 clubs were active, the then GAA President Maurice Davin told the national Congress that the county lacked enough clubs to have its own board. South Derry and North Derry regional boards were established in the 1890s, in the early decades, the Derry GAA competitions took in a number of clubs from County Donegal and Tyrone. At various times clubs in South Derry played in the Antrim GAA or Tyrone leagues, the local Catholic Churchs opposition to playing games on Sundays hampered growth in the 1890s, but there was something of a revival in the 1900s, especially in hurling. The county also competed sporadically in the Ulster Football Championship from 1904, after the disruption caused by political conflict in the 1910s and early 20s, the county board was re-established briefly in 1926, and definitively in 1929, since when it has remained in existence. Derry home games are played in the county grounds at Celtic Park, home football games are also sometimes held in Watty Graham Park, Glen or Dean McGlinchey Park, Ballinascreen, which are regarded as secondary stadia. Hurling games are held at Lavey or Fr McNally Park. The current senior manager is Brian McIver of Balinderry, while Ger Rogan has been appointed Derry senior hurling manager for the incoming season. Both managers also take charge of their respective Under 21 County teams, the Minor football manager is Barry Dillon, while Dee Doherty is in charge of the Minor hurlers. The GAA in the county is administered by a County Committee with a representative from each GAA club in the County, a Management Committee, the county administrative headquarters and centre of excellence are located at Owenbeg, Dungiven. In 1947 Derry won the National Football League, the group leaders were invited to play in the League semi-finals because heavy snow had disrupted the competition. Francie Niblock scored one of the finest goals in League history in Croke Park as Derry beat Clare, in the final, Derry scored a goal ten minutes into the second half through Owen Gribben, but Dublin secured victory with Paddy Farnan and Johnny Joyce goals. In 1965 the Derry Minor team won the All-Ireland Minor Championship, Derry won the Ulster Senior Championship three times in the 1970s, but failed to advance past the All-Ireland semi-final stage on each occasion. In 1973 Anthony McGurk became the first player from Derry to be awarded an All Star Award, the 1980s saw the county win two further All-Ireland Minor Championships and their fifth Ulster Senior Championship

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Derry
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Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name Daire meaning oak grove, in 1613, the city was granted a Royal Charter by King James I and gained the London prefix to reflect the funding of its construction by the London guilds. While the city is usually known colloquially as Derry, Londonderry is also commonly used. The old walled city lies on the west bank of the River Foyle, the city now covers both banks. The population of the city was 83,652 at the 2001 Census, the district administered by Derry City and Strabane District Council contains both Londonderry Port and City of Derry Airport. Derry is close to the border with County Donegal, with which it has had a link for many centuries. In 2013, Derry was the inaugural UK City of Culture, according to the citys Royal Charter of 10 April 1662, the official name is Londonderry. This was reaffirmed in a High Court decision in 2007 when Derry City Council sought guidance on the procedure for effecting a name change. The council had changed its name from Londonderry City Council to Derry City Council in 1984, the decision of the court was that it had not but it was clarified that the correct procedure to do so was via a petition to the Privy Council. Derry City Council since started this process and were involved in conducting an equality impact assessment report, then the EQIA held two consultative forums, and solicited comments from the general public on whether or not the city should have its name changed to Derry. A total of 12,136 comments were received, of which 3,108 were broadly in favour of the proposal, and 9,028 opposed to it. Despite the official name, the city is usually known as Derry, which is an anglicisation of the Irish Daire or Doire. The name derives from the settlements earliest references, Daire Calgaich, the name was changed from Derry in 1613 during the Plantation of Ulster to reflect the establishment of the city by the London guilds. In McCaffertys survey of language use in the city, only very few interviewees—all Protestants—use the official form, apart from the name of Derry City Council, the city is usually known as Londonderry in official use within the UK. In the Republic of Ireland, the city and county are almost always referred to as Derry, on maps, in the media and in conversation. Whereas official road signs in the Republic use the name Derry, usage varies among local organisations, with both names being used. Most companies within the city choose local area such as Pennyburn. Londonderry railway station is referred to as Waterside railway station within the city but is called Derry/Londonderry at other stations

43.
Fermanagh GAA
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The Fermanagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Fermanagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland. The county board is responsible for the Fermanagh inter-county teams. Fermanagh has the smallest number of clubs of any county in Ireland, fragments of a poem from 1806 describe a football match between Louth and Fermanagh at Inniskeen, Co Monaghan. Fermanagh beat Cavan in the 1914 Ulster semi-final and were nominated by the Ulster Council to play against Wexford in the All-Ireland semi-final. One of Ulsters great footballers, Armagh-born Jim McCullough, played for Fermanagh in the mid-1930s, since 1982 Fermanagh have reached 5 semi-finals in the Ulster Championship, beating Derry in 2008 and joining Armagh in the final. That game was played on July 20,2008, a closely fought game finishing in a draw after normal time, Armagh eventually ran out winners by 6 points in the replayed game on July 27. Fermanagh remain the county in the province without an Anglo-Celt Cup win. Under manager Pat King, they managed a hat-trick of success in 1997 in the B Championship, McKenna Cup, Fermanagh are a beneficiary of the change to the GAA championship in the 2000s. In 2003, in Charlie Mulgrews first season charge, they beat Donegal in the Ulster championship, then Meath and Mayo in the All Ireland qualifiers to reach the quarter-final. They went to a replayed semi-final in 2004, beating Meath, Cork and Donegal and most memorably of all Armagh, thanks to a point by Tom Brewster. The 2007 season saw Fermanagh lose their National League Division one status having failed to register a point from the seven match campaign. They performed quite well in the championship however, only losing by a point to Tyrone in Ulster. They defeated Wexford in the first round of the all-Ireland qualifiers, however, they were unable to record a third win in four seasons over Meath in Navan in July, losing narrowly by two points despite dominating the latter stages. Charlie Mulgrew, manager for four seasons, stood down after this match and he was succeeded by Malachy ORourke. ORourkes first season was very successful, promotion from Division 3 was followed by a first appearance in an Ulster Final for 26 years, losing eventually in a replay against Armagh. Enniskillen contested the Féile na nGael camogie first division final in 1977, under Camogies National Development Plan 2010-2015, “Our Game, Our Passion, ” three new camogie clubs are to be established in Fermanagh and a county board formed by 2015. Football All-Ireland Vocational Schools Championships,1966,1996 St Comhghalls Lisnaskea All-Ireland Junior Football Championships,11959 Ulster Junior Football Championships,21943,1959 Dr

44.
Armagh GAA
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The Armagh County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association or Armagh GAA is one of the 32 county boards of the GAA in Ireland, and is responsible for Gaelic games in County Armagh. The county board is responsible for the Armagh inter-county teams. Armaghs county colours are Orange and White, Armagh has a long tradition of football. Several clubs were already in existence before the formation of the County Board in 1889, Armagh became only the second team to win the Ulster Senior Football Championship in 1890. In the early years of the GAA, a club won its county championship went on to represent the county. Armagh Harps represented Armagh in the Ulster final, beating Tyrone, the county won the All-Ireland Minor Football Championship, in 1949 and again in 2009. It lost the 1957 All-Ireland Minor final to Meath, after a disappointing 2009 campaign which resulted in Armagh being defeated by Tyrone, Peter McDonnell stepped down as Armagh manager. He was replaced by Paddy ORourke, who is from the county of Down. In his first year as manager, Armagh won the Division 2 NFL title and was promoted to Division 1 for 2011 and they remained in Division 1 for 2012 but moved to Division 2 for 2013. Paul Grimley took over in 2013 and after a year took the county to the quarter final of the All Ireland losing by a point to Donegal in 2014. It was the first quarter final appearance since 2008 and Grimley resigned afterwards allowing his assistant Kieran McGeeney to take over. McKenna Cup,91929,1931,1938,1939,1949,1950,1986,1990,1994 Dr Lagan Cups,1954,1955,1956 Armagh has a total of 24 All Star awards. 1972, P. Moriarty 1977, Joe Kernan, J. Smyth, P. However, in recent years the county hurlers have shown a marked improvement under the guidance of manager Mattie Lennon and his assistant Ger Rogan. In 2006 Armagh won the NHL Division 3 championship, winning all their games in the stages before beating Louth 3-10 to 1-11 in the final at Breffni Park in Cavan. The step up to Division 2 proved to be a one for the men from the Orchard County. While the team failed to win any of their games they were unfortunate to lose to Meath. Heavier defeats were suffered at the hands of more established counties such as Derry, Armagh returned to the Ulster Senior Hurling Championship in May 2007 for the first time in almost 60 years with a match against Derry. Despite putting in a performance the team lost out on the chance of a semi-final encounter with neighbours Down to an injury-time score

The All-Ireland Senior Football Championship (SFC), the premier competition in Gaelic football, is an annual series of …

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Fans of Sligo (in black) are visible in the crowd among supporters of Cork, Meath and Tyrone. The introduction of the All-Ireland Qualifiers in 2001 has provided weaker counties with opportunities to play big games at Croke Park.